Miami Spice Read Online Free PDF Page A

her iced tea and his pad poised for their orders. Had she been
blushing? Erica hoped not, though she felt as if on fire.
    “I think I’ll go for the salmon crepes
special,” Maritza proclaimed happily.
    “Make that two.” Sloan nodded in
agreement.
    Erica continued to gaze at the words before her, yet
the entrees seemed to blur together. “Okay then, make it
three.”
    “Very good choice,” the young man agreed and
retrieved their menus.
    When Erica went for her tea, she tried to
refocus her thoughts. Damn it! Get it together, girl! Handsome men had never thrown her off kilter before, so why now?
“Okay, so now you know about the Rael sisters, Gianni. Tell us
something about yourself. For instance, your name. Gianni is not a
familiar Latino name.”
    He sat back with his legs crossed beneath the
table. “My full nom de amour is Giancarlo, and it’s a family name.
My job isn’t all that colorful or terribly exciting. I’m an
investment broker by day, and a man of exquisite tastes by
night.”
    Yeah, I bet you are, tastes that run to the female
variety, and a lot of variety at that! Nom de
amour , what an affectation!
    “I’m sure you must have your share of wealthy
clients.”
    “Lots of retirees with money to invest. Well,
not a whole lot. Some people just have small nest eggs, but I
manage to invest the money wisely while trying to bring them the
best return on the dollar. My parents, for instance. When my dad,
Bradford, retired from the university, I helped him set up some
accounts and make some investments, and now he and my mother live
comfortably in Coral Gables.”
    Suddenly, Erica felt something stroke her
ankle; and if she cared to guess, it came from someone’s toe
encased in a sock. She jumped back in her chair and managed to
spill some of the tea in her lap. What the hell!
    “Are you all right, Eriqueta? ” Maritza
gazed at her sister with concern.
    “Yes, yes, fine.” Erica immediately tried to dab at
the mess with her napkin.
    “Would you like to go to the ladies room with
me?”
    “Um, no thanks. Not right now.”
    “Okay then.” As Mari rose, she slipped her
hand from Gianni’s, and then hoisted her purse over a bare
shoulder. “I’ll be right back.”
    “Don’t be too long, guapa ,” Gianni
cooed in his suave tenor voice.
    “I’ll try not to!” Mari trilled and
retreated.
    The moment Erica knew Maritza was out of
range, she glared at the man who had taken her sister to bed in
just one night. “Look, Mr. Sloan, you might be able to pull that
smooth-talking crap with Mari. Far be it from me to tell my sister
how to live her life, but it won’t work on me! It didn’t Friday
night, and it won’t now!”
    “Whoa! Now wait a minute!” As he
straightened, Sloan held up a conciliatory hand. “I didn’t mean any
offense! I think we’re getting off on the wrong foot here.”
    You better believe it, buddy, and keep your
feet to yourself!
    “I just happen to know,” Erica continued,
“that you’re the tenant who lives above me. Now what you and your
dates do is none of my concern, but sometimes I can hear all
through the vents.”
    “Oh, wow. Look, I’m sorry. I mean, I know you
live in the same building. Mari told me that, but I didn’t realize
you live directly downstairs.” Gianni Sloan’s face colored slightly
with the realization his bedroom antics had not gone unnoticed.
“But I hadn’t realized... Well, about Friday night... I had no idea
that you and Mari were related until she told me. As far as our
proximity, well, that’s just an interesting coincidence.”
    Sighing, Erica sat back, barely mollified.
“Yes, I suppose it is.”
    “Can we start over again?” Gianni held out
his hand. “I’d like us to be friends, not just for Mari’s sake, but
because we do share a space together.”
    Conceding temporarily, she reached over and
took his offering. Again, the feel of his skin sent a shiver—if not
a warning signal—down her spine.
    “In fact,” he